The construction and tire servicing industries have long required mobility as an integral part of their businesses. Tradesmen are required to transport their tools to and from their place of work as well as between construction sites. Construction materials also must be moved from a place of purchase to a construction site. The tire servicing industry is frequently required to travel to service tires, particularly those used on large or off-the-road vehicles, as farm tractors. In these operations, equipment required to service tires, tires and wheels must be moved to the vehicle site.
As a consequence of these and other needs, extensive use of pickup trucks is made by both industries. Pickup trucks used by the construction industry may be owned by construction firms or, in many cases, are owned by the workers employed by the firm. For the purpose of transporting tools whether for construction or for tire servicing, it is conventional to employ tool boxes which are mounted in the bed of the pickup truck just behind the cab. Such tool boxes typically include a lower section which fits between the side walls of the truck bed and an upper section from which the lower section depends. The upper section is somewhat wider than the lower section and is supported by the upper surfaces of the sides of the bed of the pickup truck.
Additionally, it is frequently necessary to provide some sort of means for operating power tools at a construction site, particularly when electric power may not be available or when pneumatic power is required. Consequently, many construction workers own generators or air compressors which they transport to and from and between construction sites in the bed of their pickup truck. Where possible, to avoid the effort of off-loading a generator or an air compressor, they are simply left on the truck bed and the truck moved in sufficient proximity to the location where construction is occurring that electrical tools such as drills, saws, etc. or pneumatic tools such as nailers can respectively be connected to a generator or an air compressor. In tire servicing an air compressor is also required for the purpose of inflating tires as a remote site.
In some instances, electrical generators, air compressor series and/or tool boxes are made part of a permanent installation on a vehicle. While this works well for its intended purpose, if the useful life of the truck does not coincide with the useful life of the generator, air compressor or tool box, a substantial inconvenience arises when one or the other or more of these components require replacement.
Furthermore, when individual electrical generators or air compressors are carried in a bed of a truck, they must frequently be tied down while the truck is in motion to prevent shifting that could damage the bed of the truck or the air compressor or electrical generator or both. Not untypically, whatever restraints are used during transportation of such components are loosened or removed when the electrical generator or air compressor is in operation, requiring additional effort on the part of the user.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.